Rotary punching device



Dec. 21, 1965 o. D JOHNSON ETAL 3,224,671

ROTARY PUNCHING DEVICE Filed Oct. 50, 1963 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 i 19 L i I/50 K H I 26 55 24 45 -20 i8- l L i 1 IIVVE/VTORS OLIVER D. JOHNSONKENNETH B. MAYNARD AGE/VT 1965 o. D. JOHNSON ETAL 3,224,671

ROTARY PUNCHING DEVICE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Oct. 50, 1963 FIG. 3

FIG. 2

United States Patent 3,224,671 ROTARY PUNHING DEVECE Oliver 1).Jiohnson, Vestal, and Kenneth B. Maynard,

Apaiachin, N31, assignors to International Business MachinesCorporation, New York, N.Y., a corporation of New York Filed Oct. 30,1963, Ser. No. 320,177 12 Claims. (Cl. 234-50) This invention relates toa rotary punching device and more particularly to a rotary selectivepunching device having hollow punching elements and which is speciallyadapted for high speed operation.

There are a number of punching devices presently in use for selectivelyperforating record cards and the like which are employed in recordcontrolled statistical machines. Heretofore, such devices have made useof gen eral punch mechanism designed which have been known for sometime. For example, one common punch format makes use of solid punchelements which are selectively reciprocated into and out of mating holesin a stationary die. In devices of this type, the cards or material tobe punched are fed with an intermittent motion, thus greatly reducingthe speed of punching. Also, the mating of the punch and die elements iscritical and problems also exist in timing of punch selection.Additional problems are also raised due to the fact that the punchingload is carried by the selecting mechanism of the punch which directlyoperates punch interposers or the like. Rotary punches have been usedwhere punch elements on a rotary carrier are directed under control of aselection mechanism into and out of mating holes in a rotating die or aswinging die. The speed of punching was somewhat increased but theproblems of mating the punch and die elements as well as loading thepunch selection mechanism remained and limited the improvement ofoperation. Also known in the art is the use of rotary punches whereinthe punch elements on a rotary carrier cooperate with a solid rotatingbackup roll to effect punching. However, these punches are used toperform repetitive gang punching type of operations and no means isprovided to carry out automatic high speed selective punchingoperations. The punch elements are detachably secured on the rotatingcarrier and when it is desired to change the format of punching, thepunch elements have to be manually rearranged.

To overcome the above problems and satisfactorily meet the increasedoutput that present day business demands, the present invention providesan improved and vastly superior rotary selective punching device whichis not only adapted for extremely high speed operation but which alsoeliminates the use of mating punch and die elements and also eliminatesthe need for having the selection mechanism carry the punch loading. Thepresent punch makes use of the principle of severing material throughthe use of a hollow punch and a solid anvil. The embodiment of thisprinciple in an on the fly punch is worthy of note since it becomesunnecessary to provide any incrementing drive to the card, thus reducingthe complexity and cost of the document transport itself with attendantincrease in registration control. The preferred form of rotary selectivepunching device comprises a plurality of hollow punches mounted aroundthe circumference of a hollow cylinder which rotates on a hollow axlethrough which the punched chips may be drawn by a vacuum. The cylinderis driven in synchronism with the cards or material to be punched butthe surface contact is at a very low pressure to avoid marking thematerial. A row of movable anvils, one for each desired punchingposition, is placed in a line parallel to the axis of the cylinder. Eachof these anvils is normally resting in a retracted position, but may beselectively cammed toward the axis of the cylinder by anelectromechanical selection or punch control mechanism. In the selectedposition, the anvil supports the cardstock against the moving hollowpunch to shear a chip, forming the hole. The actual punching is towithin .0002 inch which fractures the stock fiber sufliciently tocompletely sever the chad. For other types of material, a differentrelationship between punch and anvil may be used for most effectivepunching action. No mating die holes are needed for the punches andhence no close registration problem is presented. Also, there is nometal to metal contact which greatly prolongs the life of the punches. Afurther advantage of the present design is that the selection mechanismoprates the anvils and not the punches and hence it dos not have tocarry the load of forcing the punches through the card-stock as in priordevices. The movement of the selected anvil is completed before theselected punch element starts passing through the cardstock.

Accordingly, a principal object of the present invention is to providehigh speed rotary selective punching device.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a high speedrotary selective punching device wherein the punching load is notprovided or carried by the selection mechanism.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a high speedrotary selective punching device wherein there is no mating of punch anddie elements and therefore, the timing of the selection is not critical.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide a highspeed rotary selective punching device wherein a backup member can bepreselected or prepositioned in anticipation of the punching action.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide a rotaryselective punching device wherein the operating elements have greatersimplicity and where the restrictions on size and shape of the selectionsystem are greatly relieved.

A further objective of the present invention is to provide a rotaryselective punching device having an arrangement of hollow punch elementsand soil anvil backup members which cooperate to punch the material toWithin .0002 inch which fractures stock fiber to completely sever a chadwith no tolerance problem and no metal to metal contact.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a rotary selectivepunching device wherein the location of the hole is not dependent onprecise timing of the selection device.

The foregoing and other objects, features and advantages of theinvention will be apparent from the following more particulardescription of a preferred embodiment of the invention, as illustratedin the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a schematic elevation view of a punching machine embodying theprinciples of the present invention.

FIGS. 2 through 7 are schematic views showing progressively the actionof selective punching in the machine of FIG. 1.

As shown in FIG. 1, the improved machine illustrated therein comprisesbriefly means, such as feed rolls 10, for moving cardstock 11continuously along a card feed path defined by support plate 12 and in adirection from left to right, as viewed in this figure, relative to acontinuously rotating punch carrying cylinder 13. Any suitable drivemechanism may be provided for rolls 10 and cylinder 13 so that thecylinder is driven in synchronism with the material or cards to bepunched. It will be understood that by providing additional feed rollsindividual record cards may be continuously fed past the cylinder andpunched in the same fashion as a continuous strip of material. Disposedaround the surface of the cylinder are a plurality of punching elements14 shaped and spaced so as to provide all combination of the desiredhole configurations in the end product. Each punch element has a thruhole 15 which communicates with a hollow shaft 16 of the punch cylinderto provide for the removal of the punched chips by suitable vacuummeans.

Positioned adjacent the punching cylinder is a single row or bank ofmovable solid anvil members 17, only one of which is shown. This bankpreferably comprises a number of anvils 17 equal to the number ofcolumns (rather than rows) provided on the record card (for example, 80anvils for a conventional 80-column, 12 row card), so that the cardswill be punched in parallel (that is, row by row). A conventional80-column, 12 row card having 960 punching positions is fully shown anddescribed in US. Patent 1,928,209 which issued to A. W. Mills onSeptember 26, 1933. When punching in parallel, cylinder 13 may beprovided, for example, with 12 rows of 80 punch elements 14 or 960 punchelements to cover all possible punching positions on the conventional80-column record card and each one of the 80 anvils 17 will be providedwith its individual selection mechanism, only one of which is shown inFIG. 1. It will be noted that cylinder 13 is shown as having 16 rows ofpunch elements. The reason for this is that in the preferred embodimentof the invention, parallel punching is carried out on a 16 cycle pointmachine. It requires 12 cycle points of machine operation to punch the12 rows and there are 4 cycle points of machine operation between thelast row on one record card and the first row of the following recordcard. The 4 extra rows of punch elements would not be used duringparallel punching of individual record cards. Of course, all 16 rows maybe used when punching a continuous strip of record material. It will beunderstood that punching may be carried out column by column on a serialsequence. Machines designed to punch column by column would be equippedwith 960 punches and 12 anvil mechanisms and the punch cylinder drivento match the card or web transport speed.

When parallel punching, it will be understood that more or less than 16rows of punch elements may be used. In fact it is highly desirable touse more than 16 rows, such as for example 17 rows, to set up a huntingcondition wherein the punching patternwill be variably distributed overthe punch elements. This reduces the number of times that each punchelement is used and materially decreases the wear of the punches.Additionally, the punch cylinder size can be any integral number ofpunch spacings, the punch spacings being preferably A inch.

The anvils 17 pass through the support plate 12 and are reciprocated toallow either full clearance for the record material 11 or confinement ofthe material between a punch element 14 and a selected anvil 17 toproduce a hole. Operation of each anvil 17 is independently controlledby a corresponding selection mechanism including an element or lever 18,interposer 19, interposer lever 20, restoring lever 21, operatingelement 22, anvil cam 23 and rotary cam 24, each of identicalconfiguration, and a preferably electrical controlled holding means 26.

The anvil selection mechanism shown in FIG. 1 comprises the cams 24which are mounted side-by-side and keyed to, and constantly rotatedcounterclockwise by, a driven shaft 26 journaled in the side frames;however, it preferred, a single cam roll may be used instead of 80transversely spaced cams. Each cam 24 has a cam surface defined by twolobes of identical and symmetrical configuration such that theirrespective low points L, L are diametrically opposite each other andarranged 90 to their respective diametrically opposite high point H, H.

Each lever 18 is rockably fulcrumed on a pin 27 carried on a fixedsupport member 28. A spring 29 is anchored to support 28 and connectedto one arm of lever 18. Spring 29 biases lever 18 clockwise about pin 27to bias a follower 30, which is carried at the outer end of the otherarm of said lever, into contact with cam 24. Each interposer 19 ispivotally connected by a pin 31 to said other arm of the correspondinglever 18 at a point intermedaite pin 27 and follower 30. Each interposer19 is laterally confined with slight clearance between the operatingelement 22 and the top of the corresponding interposer lever 20 toassure that the interposer 19 will be constrained to move generallytransversely of the axis of element 22 as lever 18 rocks on pin 27.

Each interposer lever 20 is rockably supported on a fixed fulcrum pin 32and biased counterclockwise about said pin by a suitably anchored spring33 to bias one end of the interposer lever into contact with thecorresponding cam 24. However, the holding means normally latchesinterposer lever 20 in a normal position in which the follower end 34 ofthe lever is held effectively disengaged from earn 24 and said followerend will abut the free end of the interposer 19 for applying thereto aforce which acts through pin 31 and lever 18 to also hold interposer 19disengaged from the cam.

Each holding means 25 preferably comprises an armature 35 that normallyis biased toward lever 20 by a spring 36 so that it can interlockinglyengage a shoulder 37 provided at the end of the lever. When acorresponding magnet 38 is energized, it will attract the associatedarmature 35 and thus free the lever 20 so that it will be rocked byspring 33 and carry follower end 34 into contact with cam 24.

Each restoring lever 21 is preferably in the form of a bell crankrockably supported at its knee of pin 32. A hook-like end 39 of one armof lever 21 projects into a notch in the side of the correspondingoperating element 22 to provide an interlocking type connection betweensaid element and the corresponding anvil 17. The anvil cams 23 arerockably :mounted on a fixed shaft 40 and each cam has a projection 41which extends into a notch in the side of the corresponding element 22.Each cam 23 is provided with an irregular camming surface 42 whichcoacts with a mating complementary surface 43 on the corresponding anvil17 to effect reciprocal motion of the anvil. A light spring 44 biasesthe lever 21 clockwise about pin 32 to hold the follower end 45 of thelever against the surface of cam 24. It will be noted that the highpoints on cam 24 act through lever 21 to allow the anvil to drop to aretracted position and the spring 44 is merely strong enough to maintainthe follower end 45 of the lever against the surface of cam 24.

Energization of each magnet 38 may be controlled selectively in anydesired manner. For example, when punching individual cards the variousmagnets 38 may be energized either by the brushes 46 of sensing station47 or the brushes 48 of sensing station 49. Station 47 is used ifinformation sensed from one card is to be sent to a calculator (notshown) to compute results to be punched in that card or the precedingcard; whereas station 49 is used if information sensed from a precedingcard is to be punched in a subsequent card.

Each of these brushes 46 or 48, as the case may be, complete acorresponding electrical circuit when they detect perforations in a cardas it moves between the brushes and respective contact rolls 50, 51; itis to be noted, however, that each such circuit is opened by a circuitbreaker cam in the manner well known to those familiar with this artduring the card point cycles that the brushes wipe the spaces betweensuccessive cards in order to prevent undesired energization of thecontrol magnets 38 at such time.

To effect a punching operation a selected magnet 38 is energized and itsarmature 35 will unlatch the corresponding interposer lever 20. In itsnormal non-punching position, the follower end 34 of lever 20 will abutagainst a mating surface on the end of the corresponding interposer l9and will remain in this raised position clear of cam 24. However, whenunlatched by magnet 38 the interposer lever 20 will pivotcounterclockwise due to spring 33 until the follower end 34 contacts thesurface of cam 24 and interposer 19 will slide in between the bottom ofoperating element 22 and the top of the follower end 34, as shown inFIG. 1. As cam 24 approaches the position shown in dotted outline inFIG. 1 where either of the high points H or H come under the followerend 34, the corresponding operating element 22 will be cammed upwardcausing the related anvil cam 23 interlocked therewith to be rotatedclockwise a sufficient amount so that the camming surface 42 thereonwill coact against the camming surface 43 on the anvil 17 to raise theanvil through an opening 52 in support plate 12 and against thecardstock 11. As will be described in more detail, the supporting of thecardstock by the selected anvil against the action of one of thepunching elements 14 on the punch cylinder will effectively cause a holeto be formed in a selected position on the card.

As the follower end 34 of interposer lever 20 reaches the upward limitof its travel, the shoulder 37 on the other end of lever 20 will beengaged in the notch in the spring-biased armature, since magnet 38 willnow be deenergized, and lever 20 will be latched in its upper normalposition. Following this action, one of the high spots on cam 24 willcome under the follower 30 of lever 18 causing the lever to pivotclockwise about pin 27 so that interposer 19 will be moved toward theleft, as viewed in FIG. 1, a suificient amount to just clear the end offollower 34 of interposer lever 20. As this action is completed, thediametrically opposite high spot on cam 24 will coact with the followerend of restoring lever 21 to pivot this lever counterclockwise about pin32. When lever 21 pivots counterclockwise, the related operating element22, interlocked therewith, is pulled downward to its normal position andduring this movement element 22 moves the end of interposer 19 down intoabutting alignment with the end of follower 34. Also the related anvilcam 23 is rotated back counterclockwise to allow anvil 17 to drop downand seat in its normal retracted position. The selection mechanism isnow in position for another cycle of operation,

FIGS. 2 through 7 show progressively the action of selective punching ina preferred embodiment of the present invention which may use the anvilselection mechanism above described and shown in FIG. 1. In FIG. 2, theanvil 17 is shown held in its normal retracted position. The punches lidand cardstock 11 move by without interference and no punchng occurs.When it is desired to produce a hole in the cardstock 11 approaching thepunching position, the selection mechanism is energized to apply anupward force 53 to the selected anvil 1'7 and, as shown in FIG. 3, thisforce is timed to occur after the preceding punch element 14 has passedover the anvil. As shown in FIG. 4, force 53 lifts the anvil 17 andcardstock 11 fully into position before the leading edge 54 of theselected punch 14 has passed through the area of maximum restriction. InFIG. 5, the anvil 17 is held in its raised position while the selectedpunch 14 passes fully over it. The shouldered portion 170 on the anvilstrikes the support member 12 limiting the upward travel of the anviland card so that the selected punch 14 passes through the cardstock 11which is supported by the anvil to within .0002 inch which fractures thestock fiber sufficiently to form the chip 55. Referring to FIG. 6, asthe trailing edge 56 of the selected punch moves past the punchingposition the force 53 on the anvil 17 is reversed. The chip 55 has beenfully cut from the remaining cardstock material. In FIG. 7, the anvil 17is back in its fully retracted position allowing the nonselected punches14 and cardstock material to pass without interference. The cut chip 55is retained in the punch element 14 until mechanically forced into thethru-hole 15 by the pressure of later chips. A suitable source of vacuummay be connected to the thruholes 15 to remove the cut chips from thepunch cylinder 13.

The present invention makes available a significant speed increase forselective punching whereby machines may be operated in the order of16,000 cycles per minute to punch 1000 record cards per minute and muchhigher speeds are expected. The increase in speed is also accompanied bya greater reliability of operation since no mating of punches and dieholes is involved.

While the invention has been particularly shown and described withreference to a preferred embodiment thereof, it will be understood bythose skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may bemade therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. A high speed rotary punching device for punching record material andthe like comprising in combination:

a rotatable punching cylinder;

a plurality of punch elements carried by said cylinder;

a support member for supporting the material to be punched out of thepath of said punch elements;

a plurality of reciprocable backup members positioned in said supportmember; and

means selectively operable to actuate selected backup members to movesaid material into the path of certain of said punch elements to carryout a selective punching operation.

2. A high speed rotary punching device for punching record material andthe like comprising in combination:

a rotatable punching cylinder;

a plurality of hollow punch elements carried by said cylinder;

a support member for supporting the material to be punched out of thepath of said punch elements;

a plurality of reciprocable solid backup members positioned in saidsupport member; and

means selectively operable to actuate selected backup members to movesaid material into the path of cer tain of said punch elements to carryout a selective punching operation.

3. A high speed rotary punching device for punching continuously fedrecord material and the like comprising in combination:

a punching cylinder rotatable in synchronism with the record material tobe punched;

a plurality of hollow punch elements carried by said cylinder;

a support member for supporting said record material;

a plurality of movable solid anvils positioned in said support member,said anvils normally resting in a retracted position and out of the pathof said record material; and

means selectively operable to cam a selected anvil toward said recordmaterial and punching cylinder, said selected anvil moving the recordmaterial into the path of the hollow punch elements and supporting therecord material against the action of one of said rotating hollow punchelements to shear a chip and form a hole.

4. A high speed rotary punching device as defined in claim 3 andincluding means for automatically retracting said selected anvil out ofthe path of the record material after the formation of said hole.

5. A high speed rotary punching device as defined in claim 3 andincluding means for limiting the extent of movement of the anvils towardthe punching cylinder so that the punch elements will not movecompletely through the record material but will fracture the materialsufficiently to completely sever the chips without contacting theanvils.

6. A high speed rotary punching device for punching continuously fedrecord cards comprising in combination:

a punching cylinder rotatable in synchronism with the record cards to bepunched;

a plurality of hollow punch elements mounted around the circumference ofsaid cylinder;

a support member along which said record cards are fed; row of movablesolid anvils positioned in said support member and in a line parallel tothe axis of said cylinder, said anvils normally resting in a retractedposition and out of the path of said record cards; and

means selectively operable to cam a selected anvil toward a record cardand said punching cylinder, said selected anvil moving the recordmaterial into the path of the hollow punch elements and supporting therecord card against the action of one of said rotating hollow punchelements to shear a chip and form a hole.

7. A high speed rotary punching device as defined in claim 6 andincluding means for controlling the limit of travel of said anvilswhereby said punching elements and anvils coact when selected to cut therecord cards to within the order of .0002 inch which fractures thecardstock sufiiciently to completely sever a chip.

8, A high speed rotary punching device for punching continuously fedrecord cards comprising in combination:

a punching cylinder rotatable in synchronism with the record cards to bepunched;

parallel rows and columns of hollow punch elements mounted around thecircumference of said cylinder, there being one punch element providedfor each punching position on a record card;

a support member along which said record cards are fed;

a row of movable solid anvils positioned in said support member and in aline parallel to the axis of said cylinder to provide one anvil inalignment with each of said parallel columns of punch elements, saidanvils normally resting in a retracted position and out of the path ofsaid record cards; and

means associated with each anvil and selectively operable to camselected anvils toward a record card and said punching cylinder, saidselected anvils moving the record card into the path of the hollow punchelements and supporting the record card against selected ones of saidrotating hollow punch elements to shear chips and form holes in selectedpositions on said record card.

9. A high speed rotary punching device as defined in claim 8 andincluding selection means for effecting operation of said cam meanswhereby the camming of each selected anvil is timed to occur prior tothe time that the leading edge of a selected punch element in the row ofelements in alignment with the selected anvil passes over said selectedanvil.

10. A high speed rotary punching device for punching continuously fedrecord material and the like comprising in combination:

a punching cylinder rotatable in synchronism with the record material tobe punched;

a plurality of hollow punch elements carried by said cylinder; a supportmember for supporting said record material; a plurality of movable solidanvils positioned in said support member, said anvils normally restingin a retracted position and out of the path of said record material; and

means selectively operable to cam a selected anvil toward said recordmaterial and punching cylinder, said selected anvil moving the recordmaterial into the path of the hollow punch elements and beingprepositioned to support the record material against the action of oneof said rotating hollow punch elements prior to the time that said punchelement contacts the supported material to shear a chip and form a hole.

11. A high speed rotary punching device for punching continuously fedrecord cards having parallel rows and parallel columns of punchingpositions which comprises in combination:

a punching cylinder rotatable in synchronism with the record cards to bepunched;

parallel rows and parallel columns of hollow punch elements mounted onsaid cylinder and corresponding to the punching positions on said recordcards, said rows of elements extending around the circumference of thecylinder with said columns of elements extending axially along thecylinder;

a support member along which said record cards are fed;

a row of movable solid anvils positioned in said support member and in aline parallel to the axis of said cylinder to provide one anvil inalignment with each of said parallel columns of punch elements, saidanvils normally resting in a retracted position and out of the path ofsaid record cards; and

means associated with each anvil and selectively operable to camselected anvils towards a record card and said punching cylinder, saidselected anvils moving the record card into the path of the hollow punchelements and supporting the record card against selected ones of saidrotating hollow punch elements to shear chips and form holes in selectedpositions on said record card.

12. A high speed rotary punching device as defined in claim 11 whereinmore parallel rows of punch elements are provided around the cylinderthan there are parallel rows of punching positions on the record cardsto enable punching patterns to be variably distributed over the punchelements.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,628,681 2/1953Kane 83-346 2,761,509 9/1956 Marshall et al 234-50,

0 WILLIAM W. DYER, JR., Primary Examiner.

WILLIAM S. LAWSON, Examiner.

1. A HIGHT SPEED ROTARY PUNCHING DEVICE FOR PUNCHING RECORD MATERIAL ANDTHE LIKE COMPRISING IN COMBINATION: A ROTATABLE PUNCHING CYLINDER; APLURALITY OF PUNCH ELEMENTS CARRIED BY SAID CYLINDER; A SUPPORT MEMBERFOR SUPPORTING THE MATERIAL TO BE PUNCHED OUT OF THE PATH OF SAID PUNCHELEMENTS; A PLURALITY OF RECIPROCABLE BACKUP MEMBERS POSITIONED IN SAIDSUPPORT MEMBER; AND MEANS SELECTIVELY OPERABLE TO ACTUATE SELECTEDBACKUP MEMBERS TO MOVE SAID MATERIAL INTO THE PATH OF CERTAIN OF SAIDPUNCH ELEMENTS TO CARRY OUT OF A SELECTIVE PUNCHING OPERATION.